A variety of licensing models can be employed to license software applications. Licensing information, sometimes stored locally, remotely, or elsewhere, is typically referenced to determine the state of a software license. The license information may indicate, for example, that a license is current, expired, unpaid, or the like. The subject application can then be presented, or in some cases not presented at all, based on the state of the license.
In a familiar example, many productivity applications are programmed upon launch to process locally stored license information in order to determine their respective license states. A fully paid license may grant a user with full access to a particular application, while an unpaid license for that application may relegate the user to a limited application experience. In the latter case, many applications prompt the user to obtain a license by way of a website, application store, or other purchase environment.
Indeed, an increasing number of applications are themselves obtained through application stores for download and execution on mobile devices, such as cell phones, tablets, laptop computers, and other mobile appliances. Upon obtaining an application license through an application store, licensing information is conveyed along with the application to the target device and stored in a segregated memory location allocated to that application. Launching the application may trigger analysis of the license information so that the application can be presented in accordance with its license state.
Overview
Provided herein are systems, methods, and software for facilitating application licensing. In at least one implementation, license information for an application is identified based at least in part on a developer profile associated with the application and a state of a license for the application identified from at least a portion of the license information. Presentation of the application in accordance with the state of the license for the application can then be initiated.
This Overview is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Technical Disclosure. It should be understood that this Overview is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.